While Carlos Sainz was OK with Sebastian Vettel after being impeded in the final stages of qualifying in Austria, the stewards were not.

Though the Spaniard accepted the German's apology and said "no problem", the stewards felt there was and handed the four-time world champion a 3-place grid penalty.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, the Ferrari star hit out at the endless penalties being meted out, claiming that they are preventing drivers from racing.

"I've said before I'm not a fan of penalties," he told reporters. "I think I've said as well in the past it's our own fault, the drivers' fault, because we sit there on Friday afternoon complaining about the decisions and the consistency of them.

"My view is that motorsport is not black and white," he continued, "so not every decision can be the same and I don't see the necessity to decide every time, but that's what the sport has developed into. Every incident needs to be looked at, so-called racing incidents for some reason are not allowed to happen anymore.

"So we end up with a massive rulebook which could have the heading 'We're not allowed to race' because that's sometimes how it feels."

Referring to the Q3 incident in Austria, he said: "Obviously in that situation no one was hurt, Carlos said it was no problem and he completely understood and was chilled, but still we ended up with a penalty. So for me it sucked on the day, it will probably suck for somebody else at some point in the season.

"I just think all these things are unnecessary because sometimes it's not that you lose your mind or do something crazy because you intend to, you just try to push the limits and you might do a mistake.

"It's happening everywhere," he continued, "I think there's a trend everywhere else that things are being investigated. I really don't like the word, but that's what it is."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by The Canadian, 06/07/2018 15:08

"Let them race, but punish the cheaters and the no minds... Vettel is a Big Boy, 4 Time World Champ. He should not have ipeded Carlos. He can "race" all he wants without that stuff. The system works....Vettel starting to sound like Neymar.."

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2. Posted by Cigarsmoker, 05/07/2018 23:32

"I agree with Vettel; too many investigations. Let them race. "

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3. Posted by Kkiirmki, 05/07/2018 21:31

"Although I understand the desire to be consistent with these penalties, each incident needs to be judged on its own merit. Both drivers managed to get through to the final round of qualifying, so neither was ultimately penalised. With only three engines this season, I feel this championship may be decided on who has the most reliable car, we don't need penalties being added to the mix. Without Hamilton's retirement (and strategy blunder), he could, most likely, be leading the championship by at least 23 points."

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Vettel hits out at penalties

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